Adaptive & Technical Leadership: What is the difference?
Leadership of schools—particularly programs for students with disabilities—requires two types of leadership: technical and adaptive. Both are important for changing practices and improving results.
Technical leadership refers to your school with expertise and clarity in those areas in which specific and definite solutions are available. In other words, this type of leadership requires us to “do our homework” on the explicit knowledge of our work—policy details, current legal issues, evidence-based practices, etc.
Adaptive leadership is about leading an organization in those areas in which clear, proven answers are unavailable. This type of leadership requires more tacit knowledge about the features of your organization and your community, the process of change, and the relationships between systems and people in your local context.
With all of our history since 1975’s landmark legislation, improvement of educational programs for students with disabilities in the 21st century depends on the ability of school leaders to move both general education faculty and special education teachers beyond our problematic paradigms and traditional approaches. Principals need to build both technical competence and adaptive capacity in leading programs for exceptional children.
What is the difference?
Technical leadership refers to your school with expertise and clarity in those areas in which specific and definite solutions are available. In other words, this type of leadership requires us to “do our homework” on the explicit knowledge of our work—policy details, current legal issues, evidence-based practices, etc.
Adaptive leadership is about leading an organization in those areas in which clear, proven answers are unavailable. This type of leadership requires more tacit knowledge about the features of your organization and your community, the process of change, and the relationships between systems and people in your local context.
With all of our history since 1975’s landmark legislation, improvement of educational programs for students with disabilities in the 21st century depends on the ability of school leaders to move both general education faculty and special education teachers beyond our problematic paradigms and traditional approaches. Principals need to build both technical competence and adaptive capacity in leading programs for exceptional children.